NAYPYITAW, Myanmar: Myanmar’s military television said on Monday that the military was taking control of the country for a year, while reports said many of the country’s top politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, had been detained.
A host of Myawaddy TV, owned by the military, made the announcement and cited a section of the constitution drafted by the military that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency.
He said the reason for the acquisition was partly due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s allegations of electoral fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.
The announcement came after days of concern over the threat of a military coup – and military denials – and came the morning when the country’s new parliament session was due to begin.
The arrest of politicians and the cuts in communications services on Monday were the first signs that plans to seize power were underway. The telephone and internet access to Naypyitaw were lost and the Suu Kyi National League for Democracy party could not be found.
Irrawaddy, an established online news service, reported that Suu Kyi, who as state advisor is the country’s top leader, and the country’s president, Win Myint, were both arrested in the early hours. The news service quoted Myo Nyunt, an NLD spokesman.
His report said that members of the party’s Central Executive Committee, legislators and members of the regional cabinet were also detained.
The USA, Australia and others have issued statements expressing reports of concern and urging the Myanmar military to respect the rule of law.
“The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma,” said the White House spokesman. Jen Psaki in a Washington statement. She said that President Joe Biden was informed about the reported events.
“The United States is opposed to any attempt to alter the outcome of the last elections or to prevent Myanmar’s democratic transition and will take action against those responsible if those measures are not reversed,” the statement said. Burma is the old name for Myanmar.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for the release of Suu Kyi and others who were reportedly detained. “We strongly support the peaceful convocation of the National Assembly, consistent with the results of the November 2020 general elections,” she said.
Myanmar lawmakers met on Monday in the capital Naypyitaw for the first session of Parliament since last year’s election.
Suu Kyi, 75, is by far the most dominant politician in the country and became the country’s leader after leading a decades-long nonviolent struggle against the military regime.
Suu Kyi’s party won 396 of the 476 seats in the combined lower and upper chambers of parliament in the November elections, but the military holds 25% of the total seats under the constitution drafted by the 2008 military and several important ministerial positions are also reserved for appointed military personnel.
The military, known as Tatmadaw, has accused mass electoral fraud, although they have produced no evidence. The state Union Election Commission rejected the charges last week.
Amid discussions about the allegations, the military increased political tension last Tuesday, when a spokesman at his weekly news conference, answering a question from a reporter, refused to rule out the possibility of a coup. Major-General Zaw Min Tun elaborated saying that the military would “follow the laws according to the constitution”.
Using similar language, Commander-in-Chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, told senior officials in a speech on Wednesday that the constitution could be repealed if the laws were not being properly enforced. Increasing concern was the unusual deployment of armored vehicles on the streets of several major cities.
On Saturday, however, the military denied threatening a coup, accusing unidentified organizations and the media of misrepresenting their position and taking the general’s words out of context.
On Sunday, he reiterated his denial, this time blaming unspecified foreign embassies for misinterpreting the military’s position and urging them “not to make unjustified assumptions about the situation”.